Overview of BLS Statistics on Women Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides extensive labor market data on women (and other worker groups) through its news releases, publications, and website. Users have access to data on women's employment, unemployment, and earnings by industry, occupation, education, age, marital status, and other characteristics. Data are also available on how women use their time and on workplace injuries and illnesses experienced by women. All of these data are also available for men.

Much of the BLS data about women workers are collected through the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about 60,000 households. The CPS homepage is at www.bls.gov/cps/.

CPS data on women are summarized in two annual publications: Women in the Labor Force: A Databook and Highlights of Women's Earnings. Links to current and archived editions of these two publications can be found under the "Women" header on the CPS Demographics page at www.bls.gov/cps/demographics.htm#women.

Current Population Survey data on employed women by industry are available monthly in Table A-23 (PDF) of the BLS online periodical Employment and Earnings (part of the "Monthly Household Data Tables" accessed through "Household data from the Current Population Survey").

Data on women also are available from other BLS programs.

Each month the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program surveys businesses and government agencies in order to calculate detailed industry estimates on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls. CES data on women employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry are available monthly in Table B-5a and B-5b of the online BLS periodical Employment and Earnings (these tables are included in the set of "National" data tables under "Establishment data from the Current Employment Statistics Survey").

The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) measures the amount of time that women and men spend doing various activities, such as work, childcare, housework, watching television, volunteering, and socializing. Data from ATUS are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/tus/.

The National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) are a set of surveys designed to gather information at multiple points in time on the labor market activities and other significant life events of several groups of women and men. The NLS homepage is at www.bls.gov/nls/.